So I have 2 sites to create. I’m new to web site creation. But I work in IT with SQL & sybase databases so am happy & have the time & inclination to pick up whatever languages / programs are the best for web site creation & maintenance.

What do I need to learn?

If somebody could just say:
Learn a, then b, then c … forget d.
Or Point me in the right direction, I’ll get straight on it & be forever grateful.

Of course, it depends on what sort of site it is, whether it’s a static site that never changes, or if it’s a database driven site with dynamic content. If it’s the former you might need to learn nothing more than HTML, CSS and a bit of Javascript. If it’s the latter, then there’s a massive choice and you might find different languages suit you better, depending on your experience. Personally, I use PHP and MySQL on the server (self-taught) and have found them to be good enough for the type of site that I am running. Regarding tools, I mainly use Notepad++ and Eclipse (but again, there’s a massive choice).

So I have 2 sites to create. I’m new to web site creation. But I work in IT with SQL & sybase databases so am happy & have the time & inclination to pick up whatever languages / programs are the best for web site creation & maintenance.

What do I need to learn?

If somebody could just say:
Learn a, then b, then c … forget d.
Or Point me in the right direction, I’ll get straight on it & be forever grateful.

Thanks all. It’s confusing. You know you’re in trouble when you’re not sure where to start!

In this instance I need to create 2 quite simple static sites that might change some small amounts of content twice a year. But if I’m going to invest the time and energy learning new languages I wanted them to be the right ones for more sites in the future and maybe more complex ones.

If I go down the HMTL / CSS route for now, can I add other stuff (php / mysql etc) on later?

Thanks for your time. Maybe I should just buy a book and get on with it!!

If that’s all you are doing, I’d recommend Jykell (or Hyde or phronz). You can skip the HTML completely and write in a more humane markup/markdown such as markdown or textile for your content. Then all you need to concern yourself with is a little CSS and design, if you want, or you can just pick up a ready-made theme.

Why go that route? You can get things up and going very quickly with almost no learning curve. You can see what good HTML looks like and try to tweak it if you like. Same goes for the code. Since none of them are entire fully-bloated CMSs, you can poke around at the code and learn by example.